These Girls

These Girls is an adaptation of a play by Vivienne Laxdal that doesn’t make the leap to the big screen. It’s a farce about three teenage girls stuck in a hick town who take turns sleeping with an older married man and, supposedly, get "wiser.” Glory (former MuchMusic VJ Amanda Walsh) plays a 17-year-old "babysitter” to the child of married dimwit Keith Clark (David Boreanaz), whose wife works the graveyard shift at a hospital. Glory’s close buddies, Keira (Caroline Dhavernas) and Lisa (Holly Lewis), catch wind of her carnal escapades and share the married hunk. Pity that These Girls doesn’t take inspiration from Joe Orton, whose acidic black comedies mixed sex with blackmail. These Girls lacks danger; the movie feels more like a TV romp with cute laughs but little else. The issue of marriage is never explored; the girls don’t learn much from this sexual adventure and never evolve. The film is stuck in the same easy-going gear from start to finish and tries too hard to please. Similarly, the commentary by the director and the three girls avoids deeper issues of fidelity and sexuality, and doesn’t explore the adaptation from stage to screen. Instead, we hear countless times how freezing cold it was to film in a trailer park in the Maritimes deep into October. The deleted scenes are amusing, but add no understanding to the characters or the film. Likewise, the group interview with the three girls is light and fluffy. These Girls is a fun piece of entertainment but it’s also a missed opportunity. Plus: commentary by director and the three female stars; deleted scenes; interview with the three female stars. (Seville)